Fast‐tracking teledermatology into dermatology trainee timetables, an overdue necessity in the COVID‐era and beyond

Hussain, K.; Patel, N.P.

Teledermatology has been defined as using technology‐enabled healthcare delivery models to provide dermatology patient care, from a distance(1,2). The increasing use of teledermatology has primarily been driven by a significant rise in demand on dermatology departments and a shortage of consultant dermatologists in the United Kingdom(3). The British Association of Dermatologists supports the use of teledermatology as a means of improving access to dermatology professionals(4). Currently, teledermatology in the NHS plays a particularly important role in triaging referrals on the skin cancer 2‐week‐wait (2ww) pathway, given the necessity for rapid lesion assessment, the ever‐increasing volume of 2ww referrals received by dermatology departments, and the significant proportion of benign lesions referred that do not require a face‐to‐face consultation. Skin cancer 2ww referrals to our centre have sharply increased by 44.1% over the last two years, and in the 12 months preceding the UK COVID‐19 lockdown (March 2019 to February 2020) represented 41.8% of all referrals to the dermatology department. Teledermatology for 2ww referrals was implemented at our centre in 2019 to manage this demand.